Whitepapers

As industrial control systems (ICS) and process control network (PCN) environments become more connected, “security by obscurity” is no longer an adequate strategy. Sophisticated adversaries have begun to take notice of vulnerabilities found in today’s operational environments. The ICS/PCN Cybersecurity Assessment evaluates technology and network defense processes to measure the overall corporate risk, identify risk mitigation opportunities, and improve control system security.

In February 2017, two researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology simulated a cyber attack on a water treatment plant. Using ransomware, the academics managed to access programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to shut off valves, increase the chlorine content of water and show false information on computer displays.

The ICS world is riddled with weaknesses that are ready to be exploited by switched-on wrongdoers for currency and chaos. In this analysis we look at the most dangerous roots of ICS breach and how to best prevent them.

Cyber security solutions are already in place in various sectors to secure ICS from attacks, but assaults keep happening. This poses now the challenge to assess whether these solutions are enough to protect both digital and physical assets.

Ahead of the ICS Cyber Security conference, we recently surveyed more than 350 experts on their views on the maturity of their cyber security and balanced their answers with an expert insight from Professor Chris Hankin, co-Director of the Institute for Security Science and Technology at the Imperial College London and speaker at the conference.

Anthony Leather, Senior Consultant for Aerospace, Defense and Security at Frost & Sullivan, presents the top 10 cyber threats facing critical national infrastructure based on detailed analysis of the most recent incidents. According to Leather, the cyber threat will be the number one risk for the next 20 years. Governments and industry must engage with the cyber threat now in a more strategic and meaningful way than has so far been achieved.